KIND-HEARTED care home residents have smashed a fundraising target to buy a potentially life-saving device.

Residents of Haddington Care Home pulled on their walking shoes in a bid to raise money to buy a community defibrillator.

Thanks to the generosity of friends, families and the local community, the target of £1,500 was reached in less than a fortnight.

With traditional fundraising events shelved due to the coronavirus pandemic, the residents had to be creative.

Their #ShockWalk campaign involved residents at the care home, on the town’s Mill Wynd, completing 500 laps of the garden.

However, with that target very quickly achieved, they upped their goal to 750 laps.

That too was quickly reached, with residents ultimately completing 1,515 laps in total.

Julie McNaughton, Haddington Care Home manager, was delighted with the success of the fundraiser.

She said: “We know that defibrillators are costly but potentially lifesaving equipment, so we knew that having one accessible not only to our residents and staff but also to the wider community, should it be needed, would be a real asset.

“In the event of someone suffering a cardiac arrest, having access to a nearby defibrillator can greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to administer life-saving support and gives the best possible chance for someone to survive until medical services arrive.

“Haddington Care Home is a perfect location to store and access the defibrillator, as we have staff on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are situated close to the centre of Haddington in Mill Wynd.”

Defibrillators are used to restore a person’s normal heartbeat by sending an electric pulse or shock to the heart.

They are used to prevent or correct an arrhythmia – a heartbeat that is uneven or that is too slow or too fast.

Community defibrillators are designed to be easy to use by anyone.

Julie thanked everyone for their support and highlighted that the care home had been busy raising money for another good cause.

She said: “A JustGiving page was set up so that friends and families could sponsor our residents, who have been truly amazing over this time.

“Our #ShockWalk was not only a great success for fundraising but the celebrations, feeling of community spirit and real achievement when we hit our goals for both laps of the garden and seeing the donations come in was wonderful for everyone involved.

“Following the success of their campaign, and having caught the fundraising bug, our residents continued to raise money, split between our HCH Welfare Fund for activities and local good cause East Lothian Foodbank.

“We were delighted to hand over a cheque for £410.73.”